tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065406139986258489.post2804405944040937072..comments2023-07-27T05:49:05.756-07:00Comments on C. Orthodoxy: Life and DeathKen Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08014885672703727636noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065406139986258489.post-1515925924472326032008-09-14T08:59:00.000-07:002008-09-14T08:59:00.000-07:00Deena,Ick factor aside, I wonder how going from ha...Deena,<BR/><I>Ick factor aside, I wonder how going from having to look after our dying and dead kin ourselves to now being almost totally removed from those tasks has changed us.</I><BR/><BR/>I've wondered the same thing, though I'm not sure of the answer. I certainly know that, for all the violence I see in film, I truly don't think about death very often. I wonder if that hasn't been true of young people forever though? Thanks for commenting!<BR/><BR/>Timothy,<BR/>Yes, your article was very good; I'm glad you posted it! The idea about spreading ashes somewhere within sight is a great one, especially if (unlike me, I'm afraid) you have lived and expect to continue living in the same place.<BR/><BR/>BTW, I should say that I am signed up to be an organ donor (though I did that pretty unthinkingly when I first got my driver’s license), and my mom used to talk of donating her body to science, though I don't know if she has actually made arrangements for it--I'll have to ask her. Anyway, I hadn't much thought about it in a long time, so thank you (and Touchstone) for reminding me of the issue!Ken Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014885672703727636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065406139986258489.post-53368991137939111342008-09-14T02:05:00.000-07:002008-09-14T02:05:00.000-07:00Thanks for the insight into a Christian perspectiv...Thanks for the insight into a Christian perspective on death, Ken. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed my article.<BR/><BR/>You are right - we have an unhealthy aversion to thinking about death in our society.<BR/><BR/>My own perspective on death and its rituals is (naturally) shaped by my family's practices. There have been four deaths in my close family since I was old enough remember: two grandparents, a great-aunt, and a young cousin. After my granddad died, I remember being told that his corneas had saved someone's vision. My cousin died of a rare brain disorder. His parents donated his brain for further research into the disease. So there has never been any question in my mind that donating organs is both normal and good.<BR/><BR/>For all four funerals, the remains were cremated and the ashes spread on a tiny grass-topped hill on the Alberta prairie, a 5-minute walk from the house where I grew up. That hill, with its windswept brown grass and a handful of trees we have planted, is a sort of family memorial. It has a great power to evoke the memories of those who have died. It also reminds me of my own eventual death: I hope to have my ashes spread there, after my remains have served whatever use they can.<BR/><BR/>The hill is like a cemetery, perhaps, but one that will never "fill up" as graveyards do. And it is visible from the farmyard - not obtrusive, but never too far from thought when I am visiting my parents.Timothy Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00373801153623991221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065406139986258489.post-43451283467846859992008-09-14T01:27:00.000-07:002008-09-14T01:27:00.000-07:00Very interesting post. Your comments about our so...Very interesting post. Your comments about our society being in denial about the reality of death reminds me of a chat Tim & I had a few years ago. I had watched the film Braveheart (very violent btw). In it there is a moving scene where the bodies of the main character's father and brother are brought back from battle. One of the local women washes them and prepares them for burial. <BR/><BR/>This scene just got me to thinking about how waaaaay back when undertakers simply did not exist and the job of preparing a body for burial was left to the family and friends of the deceased. <BR/><BR/>Ick factor aside, I wonder how going from having to look after our dying and dead kin ourselves to now being almost totally removed from those tasks has changed us.Deenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12855024408526304865noreply@blogger.com